Cardiff RFC will look to bounce back after last week’s disappointment at the Park by hosting Carmarthen Quins on Saturday afternoon (2:30 pm).

The Blue and Blacks face the Quins on the back of their first defeat in Super Rygbi Cymru last timeout. Tries from Lewis Morgan, James Newnian, Rhodri Davies and a brace from winger Iori Badham saw the Quins make it back-to-back home wins.

Despite losing, Matty Young crossed over for a brace, and Joe Williams picked up his first try of the season as Cardiff fell to a 31-19 defeat at Carmarthen Park.

There was also yellow card fever as referee Mathew Leon handed out five second half yellow cards. Tom Phillips was sent off for ten minutes early in the second half, compared to Iori Badham and Will C Lewis, who were sent off with only minutes left on the clock. Rhys Barratt and replacement Aled Ward were also awarded a yellow card.

Team News: 

1.Marc Thomas

2. Gavin Parry

3. Thomas Harper

4. Ethan Phillips

5. Sean Moore (C)

6. Craig Hudd

7. Nathan Hudd

8. Aled Ward

9. Ethan Lloyd

10. Steffan Emanuel

11. Dewi Cross

12. Jason Harries

13. Luke Pollock

14. Tom Bowen

15. Matty Young

Replacements: 

16. Charlie Manship

17. Rhys Barratt

18. Joe Cowell

19. Evan Rees

20. Benji Williams

21. Sion Davies

22. Osian Darwin-Lewis

23. Joe Goodchild

Pre-Match Thoughts: 

Speaking ahead of the fixture and the mood among the player’s, openside Nathan Hudd said: “It’s pretty positive to be honest. 

“Carmarthen is a tough place to go to pick up points, and after we put the first half performance behind us, the second half performance was more like us as a team. 

“I think we knew what type of game it was going to be. The Quins are strong up front with a good driving line-out, and we gave them lots of opportunities to use it, and they punished us for it. 

“It’s a tough place to play, but there’s never an easy away trip in this league.

“The messages haven’t changed from last week. Luckily, the double header fixtures allow us to correct some of the wrongs.

“We are expecting another tough game. Hopefully, for us, we can build on the second half performance and take that into the first half on Saturday,” Hudd added.

Head coach, Dan Fish stated: “We played well for large periods of the game, there was a 25-minute period where we let 3 soft tries in and we wasn’t clinical ourselves.

“Second half we played some good rugby and are looking to continue that into this week’s game. We know it’s going to be another tough encounter but got to stand up to that challenge and be better than we was last week,” Fish added.

Injury Update: 

From the weekend, Alun Rees (Bicep contusion), Jarred Williams (ACJ) and Tom Rice (Shoulder) all picked up injuries at the weekend and therefore are not available.

Cam TylerGrocott underwent ankle surgery at the end of August and is looking to make a return at the end of the year. Scrum-half Tom Habberfield, has yet to be involved in the new season as he is currently out with a cervical disc prolapse.

After making his debut for the Blue and Blacks at the last home game against Ebbw Vale, Josh Thomas will be out for 12 weeks with a double Grade 3c biceps femoris tear. Fraser Jones, who has had an ATFL tear, is looking at six-plus weeks out of action.

Lucas de la Rua (Concussion) and Harri Wilde (Mandible) were taken off in the first half in Colwyn Bay against RGC and are close to returning. Wales U20’s star Kodie Stone is closing in on his first season start as he is recovering from a hamstring strain.

Remember the last meeting at the Arms Park? 

The last time Carmarthen Quins travelled to the Arms Park was in April this year. That day saw complete domination from the Blue and Blacks as they ran in 11 tries. Luke Pollock, who made his first start of the season at the Park, scored three times. Dewi Cross, Alun Rees, Morgan Allen, Harrison James, Harri Wilde, Tom Rice, and Joe Williams all scored as Cardiff recorded their biggest win of last season (77-7).

Head-to-Head at the Arms Park 

Previous meetings at Arms Park between the two sides play into Cardiff’s hands. In the last two meetings at the Arms Park, the Blue and Blacks have scored 159 points compared to Carmarthen’s seven.

The Quins last recorded a win at the Arms Park in January 2022, winning narrowly 27-25. Before then, you would have to go back to April 2016, when the Quins last won away to Cardiff. The Arms Park was known as the BT Cardiff Arms Park as they recorded a 42-16 bonus point victory.

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